Ps 1 Courtlandt School, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 1 Courtlandt School

PS 1 Courtlandt is a small elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade in the Bronx's Mott Haven neighborhood, with a student body that is almost entirely low-income and predominantly Latino and Black. The school's academic performance, based on state testing data, shows consistent struggle across literacy and math, with weak proficiency rates that place it below the midpoint among county schools.

The testing picture is candid. In math, the school's proficiency rates range across grades three through five between roughly a third and two-fifths of students meeting state standards. In English language arts, results are notably lower. Third grade sits at a very low proficiency level, while fourth grade improves to the low-to-mid forties and fifth grade returns to the mid-thirties. Science proficiency in fifth grade is especially limited, with very few students meeting standards. These numbers signal that many students are arriving below grade level or leaving without full mastery of core content. The underlying enrollment picture compounds this: nearly all students come from households at or below the poverty line and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the concentrated economic stress many families navigate.

The school's immediate neighborhood and wider district context matter here. The Bronx has been in rapid growth, particularly around new affordable housing development, and PS 1 sits within a district that has recently embraced significant curriculum change. All New York City elementary schools, including PS 1, shifted from a balanced-literacy reading approach to science-of-reading phonics-based instruction starting in phases during 2023 and 2024. This changeover is still relatively recent for staff and families. District 7 also now offers the South Bronx Literacy Academy, a new specialized public school for students with dyslexia and reading disabilities, available by lottery with Bronx preference.

The housing stock in the school's area reflects ongoing investment. Home values and rental costs are moderate and stable, with recent modest appreciation and rental increases. The area is served by subway access and is walkable for daily needs, with commercial activity concentrated on nearby corridors. Parks and the public library system are accessible.

A parent considering PS 1 should recognize what the data shows: this is a school where the majority of students do not yet meet grade-level proficiency in core academics, and the gap is particularly pronounced in reading. The school serves families with substantial economic pressure. Attendance patterns and chronic absenteeism data were not available, so a parent may want to look into that further with the school, as home-school consistency around attendance shapes any gains in literacy and math. The school's recent shift to a new literacy curriculum means teachers are still embedding new methods, and outcomes at this level of proficiency suggest the work of raising reading levels is ongoing and steep. For families in this neighborhood seeking a traditional, zoned public school, PS 1 is that option; for those able to apply more broadly, the academic profile suggests exploring other schools and programs, including the specialized literacy academy or other district options, as one part of the choice conversation.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 52% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 43% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 39% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 46% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 39% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 47% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 22% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 552%

School 52% · district not reported

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 7, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.